Posted in Technology
Friday, June 23, 2006
Computer Scientist
Alan Turing in his paper entitled "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" postulated that computers will never be considered intelligent machines. They are defined by what they
cannot do. As an example he seemed confident that computers can never be taught to enjoy strawberries and cream. He lists the following things computer can never do:
Be kind, resourceful, beautiful, friendly, have initiative, have a sense of humor, tell right from wrong, make mistakes, fall in love, enjoy strawberries and cream, make someone fall in love with it, learn from experience, use words properly, be the subject of its own thought, have as much diversity of behavior as man, do something really new
I believe that computers can be programmed to think. They just do not think the same way humans do. We already know that machines called planes can fly. Observe that planes do not fly the same way that birds do.
Can computers dream of strawberries? No, they cannot even enjoy them. Yet, they can approve mortgage applications, predict the weather and keep the brakes on cars from locking. I see promise in more sophisticated artificial intelligence. We should not limit ourselves by assumptions about what computers cannot do.
Posted in Technology
Sunday, June 18, 2006
I found a good disk defragmentation program for Windows XP named PerfectDisk.
Let me explain what a defragger does. As you create and remove files in Windows, gaps can appear in the “map” the operating system keeps of the disk drive. This causes the pieces of your files to get stewn all over the drive. Consequently, the drive spends more time seeking those pieces when you load a file. This translates to longer load times. As a result Windows feels sluggish and unresponsive. To be fair Microsoft does include a defragger. But comparing it to PerfectDisk is like comparing a bicycle to a Cadillac.
I downloaded the trial version of PerfectDisk and ran it. I noticed a marked improvement right away. Even though I had faithfully defragged my disk using Window’s defragger, PerfectDisk made even more improvements. It reordered the files based on how frequently I used them, consolidated more free space and even defragged my system files in offline mode — something Windows does not offer.
In short I’m a believer. I bought two licenses, one for my PC and one for my notebook. If you’re interested in improving Windows performance, I recommend you download and try the free trial version of PerfectDisk.
Posted in Technology
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Duke, the Java mascot.
Used with permission.Lately, the
Java programming language has been a popular choice for web applications and enterprise level software. But it may soon attract the attention of homebrew game programmers. Java was accepted as part of the official standard for
Blu-ray content authoring. This means that every Blu-ray device, including the Sony Playstation 3, will support Java. According to a
Simon Morris blog entry enterprising game programmers may be able to write some Java ME code, burn a disc and play the creation on their HDTV. We shall see.
Posted in Politics, Technology
Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Today is 06/06/06. That makes it “6-6-6″, or 666, which is the Mark of the Beast. Folks are doing fun things today like releasing a movie about a demon child. Oh, the delicious Ann Coulter is releasing “Godless”, her latest tome on the stupidness that is today’s liberalism.
I am gonna have a little fun, too. Check out the devilishly funny System Administrator Song from Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie
Posted in Technology
Thursday, April 13, 2006
This month Scientific American has an article on the slide rule. It seems the term "computer" user to refer to humans who spent their time calculating numbers. If you call yourself a nerd and have never taken the time to fool around with a slide rule or an abacus, then you aren’t really a nerd. Learning to use one of these analog calculating devices will help you appreciate the beauty of number theory and realize the importance of estimation and verification.
They have plans on how to construct a slide rule.
Posted in Software Engineering, Technology
Saturday, April 1, 2006
Security testing is more than doing a port scan. Read the bug reports for the operating system and development software. Are you vulnerable to cross-scripting scripting? http request smuggling? Think about the people involved in operating and maintaining the software. Are they vulnerable to social engineering? Secure design documents. Shred anything that you don’t plan to archive and that contains proprietary information about your software.
This concludes the week of testing topics. Do not be shy to tell me what you think.
Posted in Software Engineering, Technology
Friday, March 31, 2006
Operational validation testing, or assessment testing, is testing that occurs on the operational system. Often the other testing is done with old (but known) data. Operational testing occurs with current, live data. Sometimes the users change their behavior and send data in a new and unexpected way. It is important to test that software handles live data correctly.
Testing week concludes tomorrow with the topic of security testing.
Computer Scientist Alan Turing in his paper entitled "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" postulated that computers will never be considered intelligent machines. They are defined by what they cannot do. As an example he seemed confident that computers can never be taught to enjoy strawberries and cream. He lists the following things computer can never do:
